In early 2013, Fu Ping published her autobiography Bend, Not Break, coauthored with Meimei Fox. The book, along with her media interviews, has been found to contain many exaggerations, distortions, and fabrications. Fu Ping has responded by claiming to be a victim of a "smear campaign" of ulterior motives.

This blog documents the facts, questions, and falsehoods behind her book and words.

But one day I heard this loud noise and the boots marching through our backyard. Then I heard my mom crying, saying, “She’s so little.”

The Debunking:
The problem is that, in 1966, there were hardly any boots available in China. Red Guards typically fashioned themselves with army uniforms which in footwear consisted of what it was called the "liberation shoes" (解放鞋):

The shoes have rubber bottoms and cloth tops. They are indeed notorious for bad smells but they are most definitely not "heavy" or able to create the sensation of "heavy beating" or "loud noise."

Both Shanghai and Nanjing are cities in southern China where the heat in summer (when the above happened) can be repressive. Nobody would be wearing winter boots of any kind at that time. The only footwear that could resemble "boots" would be rain boots. But those are also made of light rubber and were not part of the regular attire for Red Guards at the time.